Have we forgiven Tana Umaga yet?
It is almost 10 years since the Lions Tour to New Zealand and when captain Brian O'Driscoll had his tour ended in the opening seconds of the first test against the All Blacks. No action was taken at the time, which is still mind blowing, because New Zealand captain Umaga and hooker Kevin Mealamu clearly spear tackled O'Driscoll.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsXJyDHFKn0
A decade later and Umaga has moved into coaching, and today it was announced that he will lead the Blues into the Super Rugby competition next season. The Auckland franchise have a lot of talent but struggled this season, finishing bottom of the New Zealand conference.
Umaga has coached provincial side Counties Manukau since 2010 and was widely praised for his work there. It will be interesting to see how he fares in the marquee club tournament next year, although it is unlikely that Irish fans will be supporting the Blues as long as he is in charge.
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